lists

15 Jan
2013
2013 garden catalogs

2013 seeds: ordered!

There’s a cold front coming. This past weekend saw temperatures in the 50s, and Monday started out almost balmy. But now it’s raining and we’re cooling off fast. Granted, this is Virginia in the era of modern climate change; things aren’t going to get too cold. We’re looking at highs ...

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4 Jan
2013
Cold-killed tomatillos in the winter garden.

New year. New plants.

I don’t know about you, but I get a little resolution-happy when it’s time to hang a new calendar. All that potential and hope. All those plans to be made and those goals to be set. Every new year is a new chance to shine up our dreams, and move ...

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13 Jul
2012
10 rules for breaking the rules in front yard vegetable gardens

10 rules for growing vegetables in the front yard

What!? Rules for breaking the rules? What kind of outlaw gardener am I? Sheesh. Actually, hopefully, I’m the kind of outlaw gardener who gets to continue being an outlaw gardener. Put another way, I recognize that I’m breaking the rules here. At any moment, my community’s HOA could demand that ...

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20 Jun
2012
blueberries

EWG’s Dirty Dozen list provides inspiration for the vegetable garden

As every seed-catalog-perusing gardener knows, there are approximately 4,372,912 possible fruits or vegetables to choose from when planning our gardens each year. Or, something like that. [Note: It's possible that I pulled that number out of thin air. Probable, in fact. Ok, I have absolutely NO proof that there are ...

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8 May
2012
books-feature

Five books to inspire the gardener

Last week, I mentioned that I’m participating in the 2012 Blogathon — which is essentially a month-long promise to blog every day for the entire month of May. That’s 31 blog posts in 31 days. That’s a lot of blogging and original ideas and creativity. Honestly, the thought of it ...

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14 Mar
2012
Let's admit it. Tomatillos are just fun to grow. They have a nice mounding and spreading habit, and grow rapidly. Their exuberance is admirable and welcome — no coddling needed for these nightshades. Simply plant them, water them a bit, and then enjoy an abundant harvest of green or purple fruits. Not sure what to do with them? Grab any Mexican cookbook for inspiration. Salsa verde is just the beginning...

6 vegetables that are super easy to hide from the HOA

Maybe your HOA bans vegetable gardens. Maybe your city or town has written some obscure legal code that literally outlaws veggies. Or, maybe you just want to grow vegetables that are also beautiful. Whatever your reasons, this blog post is for you. Here are six varieties that I grew last ...

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13 Mar
2012
weeding

5 things toddlers can teach us about gardening

Last week, on a warm and sunny babysitting day, I asked the three-year-old nephew if he wanted to help me plant some peas. His response — delivered while spinning and jumping and grinning — was pretty clear: ”Yes! Yes! I do I do I do!” So, we found a bent trowel ...

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